Lancashire win County Championship Division One title - BBC Sport BBC Sport Lancashire win County Championship Division One title 15 Sep 2011 LV County Championship Division One, Taunton Lancashire 480 & 213-2 beat Somerset 388 & 310 by eight wickets Lancashire 23pts, Somerset 5pts Lancashire's players celebrate winning the County Championship title outright for the first time in 77 years Lancashire beat Somerset by eight wickets to claim their first outright County Championship title since 1934. Set 211 to win and with Warwickshire only able to draw with Hampshire, they reached their target with more than five overs of the final day left. Stephen Moore (71) and Paul Horton (54) got the run chase off to a flying start with a stand of 131 before Steven Croft and Karl Brown saw them home. Lancs title success 'special' for Moores Peter Trego (120) had threatened to derail Lancashire as Somerset made 310.

Lancashire did tie for the County Championship with Surrey in 1950, but this was their first outright title win in 77 years. But, at one stage, it looked as though they would be denied the win they needed to keep their hopes alive as Trego led an impressive Somerset recovery from 130-7. He was ably supported by Alfonso Thomas (18) in a stand of 75 for the eighth wicket, before going to his first Championship century of the summer in sharing 95 after lunch for the ninth wicket with former Lancashire man Murali Kartik (65 not out). DID YOU KNOW? Lancashire have finished second eight times in the County Championship since 1934 But, when Gary Keedy ran out Gemaal Hussain, Somerset were all out and Lancashire knew that they needed to score at around six runs an over in a session and a bit to win the title. The opening partnership spanned only 17 overs and, when Moore was second out, Lancashire still needed 76 in 17 overs.

But Blackpool-born Croft (40 not out) and Bolton-born Brown (33 not out) made light work of that task. And Croft had the honour of hitting the winning runs to spark understandably jubilant scenes as Lancashire, under the captaincy of a Yorkshireman, Glen Chapple, claimed their eighth County Championship title and one that brought them great pride. Cumbes 'shocked' by Lancs success It was a third County Championship triumph for their coach Peter Moores, who had twice pipped Lancashire before with Sussex, in 2003 and 2006. But the biggest irony of Lancashire winning the title this year of all years was that it came in a season when they did not play a single match at Old Trafford - where the title was so dramatically won by Nottinghamshire in the final moments last September. Due to the work on their famous old ground, apart from playing at the other 'out' grounds, Blackpool and Southport, they switched their other six matches to Aigburth.

But, after years of notoriously bad luck with the weather, fate played its part in deciding that the outcome of the Liverpool Victoria Championship would be that, with Liverpool as their base, Lancashire were victorious. VIEW FROM THE DRESSING ROOM Lancashire batsman Steven Croft: "We put in the hard yards last winter and it's turned into a great season with a real team effort from 1 to 11. "Apparently, Michael Carberry dropped Shiv Chanderpaul, who went on to make a century and we were cursing him. But he more than made up for it. "When we heard the result come through from The Rose Bowl, our supporters let us know. "And, from then on, it was just a case of keeping a cool head." Share this page Lancashire overcome Somerset to win the County Championship title for the first time since 1934 - Telegraph Counties Lancashire overcome Somerset to win the County Championship title for the first time since 1934 It was 5pm when Lancashire knew it was over.

News filtered through of Warwickshire’s draw at the Rose Bowl and the cries of “Oh Lanky, Lanky” rolled round the County Ground as the weight of Lancashire’s stunning title victory sank in on a thrilling final day of the championship summer. Image 1 of 2 Red rose day: Lancashire six-wicket defeat of Hampshire means they have won County Championship title for the first time since 1934 Photo: GETTY IMAGES Image 1 of 2 At last: Lancashier captain Glenn Chapple holds the County Championship Division One trophy Photo: GETTY IMAGES By Nick Hoult 10:19PM BST 15 Sep 2011 It took another 10 minutes for Steven Croft to cut the winning runs and confirm the title for Glen Chapple’s team, ending a 77-year wait for an outright championship, as a potentially tricky run chase turned into a dash for glory. This remarkable achievement by a team lacking international stars removes a massive weight from their shoulders in the year when they were forced to play away from Old Trafford and were tipped for relegation.

Now the photos snapped on Thursday can hang next to those taken in 1934 when Peter Eckersley captained Lancashire to the championship in the same summer Fred Perry won Wimbledon and Adolf Hitler appointed himself Fuhrer. It is a world away from the modern era but the small band of travelling Lancastrians, numbering around 100, who feared the worst at the start of the day, clutched at omens. Manchester City won the FA Cup in 1934, as they did in 2011, and, perhaps crucially, this team are also mostly made up of home-grown talent like many successful Lancashire sides of the past. “I am happy because nobody gave us a chance at the start of the year,” said Peter Moores, the director of cricket. “We have won because we have fantastic team spirit. It’s been a magical season for us. “The belief of the lads has been great because after the first day here you would not have given us a hope of winning the game, never mind getting ahead of Warwickshire. I feel for Warwickshire. But it is our day.

After what has happened this season you think maybe it was written somewhere in the annals of time we would win. We tried every day to retain belief it was going to be our year and this means so much to us.” Related Articles Lancashire face anxious wait 14 Sep 2011 It was fitting Lancashire’s band of grafters toasted victory with cans of lager. There is no place for champagne superstars in Moores’s team. Lancashire’s title was based on hard work and a rigorous preparation. Moores’s sacking by England in 2008 set back a promising career but he has gone a long way to restoring his own reputation. Winning the championship means a lot to each county but somehow for Lancashire it has added resonance following so many near misses. As Moores ended a chaotic press conference on the outfield he was tapped on the arm by an elderly fan who politely told him: “I’ve waited all my life for this.” There were times when his wait looked like it would stretch to another year. Somerset put up a tremendous fight. Their last five wickets added 180 and ate up 55 overs.

Peter Trego’s first championship hundred of the summer included frustrating stands with Alfonso Thomas and Murali Kartik. Trego was eventually taken at short-leg before Gary Keedy ran out last man Gemaal Hussain. Lancashire were left with a target of 211 off a minimum of 28 overs, a quest which in 1934 would have been monumental but not in this era of Twenty20. Somerset tried to slow down the game, possibly knowing that batting has been Lancashire’s weakness this season. But Somerset needed wickets with the new ball and gave too many singles. Stephen Moore and Paul Horton ran brilliantly, putting pressure on the fielders who made too many errors. Moore and Horton seized their chance, becoming the only Lancashire batsmen to pass 1,000 championship runs this season. Horton hit Thomas for six over point and Moore brought up his half-century with a straight hit over the rope as they added 131 in 17 overs for the first wicket. There was time for another wobble. Warwickshire took two quick wickets almost at the same time as Horton fell lbw and Moore top-edged to long leg.

But Croft and Karl Brown kept cool as the runs were ticked off and an era of failure ended. Lancashire win County Championship title | Daily Mail Online comments Lancashire, the perennial bridesmaids of the County Championship, ended their long, painful wait for the biggest prize in the domestic game in thrilling and nail-biting fashion. Not since 1934 have Lancashire, full of history and tradition, won the Championship outright, but their collection of mostly home-grown, unsung players put that right on a day when the much-maligned old competition had a glorious day in the autumn sun. We are the champions: Lancashire celebrate at Taunton Warwickshire went into the final day as firm favourites to gain the win that would have given them their first title since 2004. Yet they just could not dislodge relegated Hampshire at the Rose Bowl, where Michael Carberry and Neil McKenzie scored centuries, and had to settle for the most frustrating of draws.

That opened the door to Lancashire who, at the end of a campaign that began on April 8, needed to score 211 at seven an over against Somerset at Taunton to clinch their 10th and most important victory of the season after Peter Trego’s century had held them up. Good old days: Lancashire County cricket team 1934. Back row : L to R. Paynter, Washbrook, Booth, Hawkwood, Sibbles, Hopwood, Parkinson. Front row: Duckworth, Tyldesley, Eckersley, Watson, Iddon They did it, handsomely, as Steven Croft and Karl Brown, Blackpool and Bolton’s finest, put on an unbeaten 78-run partnership to take Lancashire home, Croft hitting the winning runs with eight wickets in hand in just 29.1 overs. Cue cries of ‘Oh Lanky, Lanky’ from a large travelling contingent. It is a triumph not just over history but for the underdog as not even the most myopic Lancastrian could have expected the 77-year wait to end this summer.

Indeed, one illustrious former Lancashire player declared earlier this season that this was the worst side to represent the Red Rose he had ever seen. All smiles: Lancashire claimed the title on a dramatic final day That Lancashire have defied those pessimistic expectations is down to a group of local journeymen cobbled together in a harsh financial climate and marshalled superbly by a captain and coach who have found fulfilment in the county game after frustrations on the international stage. Glen Chapple, with just a single one-day international against Ireland to his name, is in his 20th season at Lancashire and battled against constant hamstring problems to bring home the trophy that eluded so many of the county’s famous players from Brian Statham to Clive Lloyd to Mike Atherton and Andrew Flintoff. In the runs: Stephen Moore (left) and Paul Horton (right) helped Lancashire to victory But it was the arrival of Peter Moores, after the humiliating end to his brief spell as England coach, that has really turned Lancashire, runners-up six times in the last 14 years, into champions.

Moores, who has acted with dignity ever since being forced out of high office, may have had his limitations with England but he is mightily effective at domestic level and has now coached both Sussex and Lancashire to the ultimate prize in county cricket. Chapple said: ‘People didn’t think we were good enough to turn over more highly rated teams, so our young lads deserve a lot of credit. They’ve won the biggest prize of the lot early in their careers. 'I think I’ve torn my hamstring but I don’t really care. Peter Moores is without the doubt the best coach I’ve ever worked with and everybody here will tell you what an influence he’s been.’ Frustration: The reactions of Warwickshire players Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Chris Wright say it all at the Rose Bowl It should also be noted that Lancashire, who shared the title with Surrey in 1950, have benefited from being unable to play a single Championship game at Old Trafford this year because of redevelopment. The move to out-grounds more conducive to results, notably Liverpool, has helped the new champions, without a single Test player, to take the £550,000 first prize. No matter.

Their victory should act as a template for other counties who still waste too much money on mercenary help. This is a true Lancastrian triumph and one for English cricket, too. LCCC History | Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club History of the Club History of the Club Lancashire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Lancashire in cricket’s County Championship. Founded in 1864 as a successor to Manchester Cricket Club, Lancashire have played at Old Trafford since then and, in 1865, played their inaugural first-class match, beating Middlesex at Old Trafford. Johnny Briggs, whose career lasted from 1879 to 1900, was the first player to score 10,000 runs and take 1,000 wickets for Lancashire, a period where the county was recognised as the champion county four times between 1879 and 1889. When the County Championship was officially founded in December 1889, Lancashire was one of eight clubs to feature in the competition’s first season in 1890 and went on to win two County Championship titles in 1897 and 1904.

In 1895 Archie MacLaren scored 424 in an innings for Lancashire, which remains the highest score by an Englishman in first-class cricket. Ernest Tyldesley is the club’s leading run-scorer with 34,222 runs in 573 matches for Lancashire between 1909 and 1936. while legendary England fast bowler Brian Statham took 1,816 wickets in 430 first-class matches between 1950 and 1968 which remains a club record unlikely to be bettered. Between 1926 and 1934, Lancashire won the County Championship five times – including a hat-trick between 1926-28 – but would not claim the title again until 1950, when it was shared with Surrey. Lancashire next won the County Championship in a dramatic finale to the 2011 season, their first outright title success for 77 years.

Lancashire are the most successful one-day team in English cricket, founded on the side of the late 1960s and early 1970s that won the Sunday League in 1969 and 1970 and the Gillette Cup four times between 1970 and 1975. They won the Benson and Hedges Cup in 1984, before the ‘Team of the Ninties’ enjoyed a golden decade. Lancashire became the first team to do the ‘double’ of Lord’s cup final wins when they won both the B&H Cup and NatWest Trophy Finals in 1990, a feat they repeated in 1996. Another B&H Cup success in 1995 and NatWest Trophy win in 1998, along with three Sunday League in 1989, 1998 and 1999 put the seal on a golden era. The County Championship was restructured in 2000 with Lancashire in the first division. They were relegated in 2004 but promoted again in 2005.

In 2011, Lancashire won the County Championship but since have ‘yo-yo’d’ between the two divisions; relegated in 2012, promoted as Division 2 Champions in 2013, but then relegated again in 2014. The 2015 season marked a successful year for Lancashire who returned to the first division of the County Championship whilst reigning supreme in the NatWest T20 Blast competition, beating Northamtonshire Steelback in a thrilling final at Edgbaston. Lancashire wins county championship Lancashire wins county championship September 15, 2011 by: Paul Gregan in Taunton Lancashire shook a 77-year-old monkey off their backs at Taunton on Thursday, taking the county cricket championship title outright for the first time since 1934. Prayers to St John of Arlott and promises to do pilgrimage to Hambledon helped as Hampshire batted title rivals Warwickshire to a draw at the Rose Bowl. One of the tensest final days in the championship for years went down to the final hour, with fans at both grounds glued to Twitter and satellite TVs to keep track of their rivals’ progress.

Lancashire bowled out Somerset in their second innings for 310 leaving a chase of 211 in at least 28 overs. Even Lancashire fans saw it as a tricky target, but this team chases targets like a dog after a butcher’s bike. The foundation of the win was an opening stand of 131 in 17 overs by Paul Horton and Stephen Moore, in spite of a go-slow by Somerset fielders. Somerset could have made the pursuit harder, but misfields and dropped catches only egged on the batsmen. Karl Brown (33) and Steven Croft (40) saw them reach the total with five overs to spare. This sparked massive celebrations by hundreds of Lancashire fans, and cries of “there’s only one Glen Chapple” for the skipper, who played through the game with a torn hamstring, and cheers for ex-England manager and now Lancashire coach Peter Moores, architects of the successful season. Warwickshire had started the day favourites having made Hampshire follow-on their first innings of 493. But obdurate batting held up their title hopes.

Michael Carberry scored 111 for Hampshire as they reached 327-7 in the second innings and never gave Warwickshire a second chance to bat. “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride” jokes wore thin for cricketers north of the Mersey a long time ago. But after 77 years without a championship to call their own, Lancashire might have gone beyond bridesmaid status and become the Miss Havisham of the sport, locked away in occasionally petulant isolation in a rose-red wedding dress, living on memories of former glories. The last team that took an undisputed county title to Old Trafford included names now misty with nostalgia such as Tyldesely, Paynter and Duckworth. Great players of later years never managed this feat. You could make a world-beating team out of their names: Atherton, Fowler, Pilling, Laxman, Fairbrother, Lloyd C, Engineer, Wasim Akram, Statham, Holding, Muralitharan. Every Lanky fan could give you their own such XI.

These icons of the game may have taken out a mortgage on the Gillette, NatWest and Benson & Hedges one day trophies in the 1970s and 1980s ... but they never took the title everyone at the club wanted and believed they deserved. As notable as that benighted “77 years” number is the amount of times (eight) Lancashire have finished second, often just a couple of batting points behind the title-takers. So often they had to commiserate themselves with “nearly” and “next year then, our kid”. The squad of 2011 has few big names. Jimmy Anderson, England’s spearhead, has barely been seen at home because of the international schedule and central contracts. Steven Croft, Simon Kerrigan, LukeProcter, et al, cannot claim the same household name status, but have produced performances that could provide a mathematical proof of the theory that a team is more than the sum of its individual parts. With no disrespect to the main overseas player of 2011, Sri Lankan Farveez Maharoof, he is not the headline act previous years have seen.

But he has became a cult figure nicknamed The Roof, taking key wickets (best 4-35) and crucial runs (av 40), and never been seen without a smile even when acting as Twelfth Man. But called up to his country’s touring side, he was notable for his captain’s reluctance to bowl him. Sri Lankan coach Stuart Laws, another ex Lanky, must have been inundated with Tweets and e-mails: “Can we have our bowler back if you don’t want him?” Lancashire have a captain in Glenn Chapple who showed at Taunton he was prepared to bowl on one leg for the team. Neither he nor lead spinner Gary Keedy will see 35 again, but they have both taken 50-plus wickets and led a team of youngsters by example, giving them a street-fighting attitude that does not accept defeat (or a draw) until the last ball has been bowled. Faced with scoring 121 in 15 overs against Yorkshire, they calmly – albeit violently – set about knocking them off. Whenever the battling has failed, the bowlers have found the nous to chip off a score to give themselves something to bowl at.

Chapple himself fell agonisingly short of a century against Hampshire after a batting collapse setting up a total that allowed Kerrigan to win it with the last of nine wickets in the last innings with just 4 minutes of the game left. No one ever said supporting Lancashire was good for the heart. And this bunch of grafters has been homeless. Old Trafford is being rebuilt and the square turned 90 degrees, so the peripatetic squad has spent most of the season squatting on the Liverpool club ground at Aigburth. In the end this proved a blessing for title hopes. Instead of playing in an echoing barn of stadium, they have been surrounded by enthusiastic fans in a more intimate atmosphere – and on a result wicket. Even if it rains in Liverpool the sea breeze blows it past quickly, unlike the rain trap that is Manchester. A fair few times on the banks of the Mersey, Lancashire forced wins while hearing that 30 miles to the east, the Warwick Road end was practically under water. Sample the FT’s top stories for a week You select the topic, we deliver the news.

Select topic Lancashire win first English cricket championship title since 1934 | Radio New Zealand News Lancashire win first English cricket championship title since 1934 6:42 pm on 16 September 2011 Share this Share on Linked In Lancashire have finished second eight times since 1934, five of them in the last 13 years. Lancashire's won its first English cricket championship title outright since 1934, in beating Somerset by eight wickets on the final day of the county season. They shared the title with Surrey in 1950. Lancashire have been based in Liverpool this season while Old Trafford in Manchester is being redeveloped. Share this Lancashire happy in their temporary Liverpool home - BBC Sport BBC Sport Lancashire happy in their temporary Liverpool home By Ged Scott and Andy Toft BBC Sport Read more about sharing.

Lancashire were mainly based at Aigburth for the 2011 season while their Old Trafford home, in Manchester, underwent redevelopment King George V was on the throne, Ramsay MacDonald was Prime Minister, Adolf Hitler had just declared himself the Fuhrer and Liverpool still had twice as many league title wins as Manchester United when Lancashire last won the County Championship way back in 1934. So how on earth did it take 77 years for English domestic cricket's main prize to return to the county? What a catalogue of Lancashire greats can be reeled off the tongue when it comes to listing those who, astonishingly, never lifted the County Championship: Ken Higgs, Peter Lever, Harry Pilling, Ken Shuttleworth, David Lloyd, Barry Wood, Jackie Bond, David Hughes, Jack Simmons, Frank Hayes, Paul Allott, Graeme Fowler, Neil Fairbrother, Warren Hegg, Michael Atherton, Philip De Freitas, John Crawley, Andrew Flintoff, not to mention England's latest Lancastrian Jimmy Anderson, who played only a very minor role, taking five wickets in the two early season games he was allowed to play in.

Then there's the list of overseas players who came and went: Sonny Ramadhin, Ian Chappell, Farokh Engineer, Clive Lloyd, Colin Croft, Mick Malone, Michael Holding, Patrick Patterson, Wasim Akram, Muttiah Muralitharan, Saurav Ganguly, Stuart Law, Carl Hooper, Dinesh Mongia, Brad Hodge, Andrew Symonds, Murali Kartik, Nathan Astle, Sanath Jayasuriya, VVS Laxman, Francois du Plessis, Mohammad Yousuf. Even the great Murali's astonishing haul of 66 wickets in just seven matches in 1999 was not good enough. His team still finished 56 points adrift of Surrey.

LANCASHIRE'S RECORD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP SINCE 1950 1950 Joint champions 2nd, 6th, 4th, 2nd, Rel, Div 2 champs, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 4th 2011 County Champions Yet, with a totally unfancied team containing Lancashire lads from Bolton, Bury, Blackpool, Preston, Oldham and even Liverpool itself, Birmingham-born Kyle Hogg, who succeeded where his father and grandfather had failed, not to mention three Yorkshiremen (including the captain, Glen Chapple) and a South African/Australian opening partnership, coach Peter Moores defied the odds to lay one of English sport's longest bogeys. When Lancashire return to their rebuilt home in Manchester to play four-day cricket again next season, the County Championship pennant will once more be flying proudly over Old Trafford. But, for all the money lavished over in Manchester, are Lancashire doing the right thing in leaving Liverpool? The main factor in Lancashire's lifetime-long wait for the county title, over the best part of eight decades, has been the Manchester weather.

Statistics have long since been rolled out to show just how many days of cricket are lost at Old Trafford, in the rain shadow of the Pennines, in comparison to other county grounds. But, by moving to their main 'out ground' at Aigburth, in South Liverpool, they found a home that brought 'results' - four wins, the better part of a draw against a Warwickshire side hanging on eight wickets down, and just one defeat, by Durham. Admittedly, when Lancashire were the country's one-day kings four decades ago (five trophies in three years), missing out on the Championship was not such a big issue, even though that side did twice come close. Aigburth also has its own micro-climate because it's so close to the Mersey. It doesn't get as much rain as Old Trafford BBC Radio Manchester's Liam Bradford But five second places in the last 13 years had raised the stakes and, when Lancashire won their first three home games in Liverpool, two of them, against Sussex and , by an innings, the unthinkable was already being thought - could they really be victorious in Liverpool in the Liverpool Victoria County Championship?

Moore's men then before returning to Liverpool to draw with the Bears, beating Worcestershire at Blackpool and Hampshire, in such dramatic circumstances back at Aigburth, with just four minutes to spare. Contrast that with Old Trafford, where five matches were drawn in 2010 when Lancashire ended up just 32 points - less than two wins - adrift of eventual champions Nottinghamshire. "Aigburth also has its own micro-climate because it's so close to the Mersey," explains BBC Radio Manchester's Liam Bradford. "It doesn't get as much rain as Old Trafford." But he also points out two other factors. "With the reduction of points available for a draw more counties are preparing results pitches and also, because Old Trafford is a Test ground, the pitches are designed to last five days so do not deteriorate as quickly as others elsewhere. Aigburth is not quite the same quality of pitch." So why not do it again?

Way back in 1935, when Lancashire last defended their title, they finished fourth with nine draws and an entire day's play was lost in the home games against Glamorgan, at Blackburn, Yorkshire and Surrey, not to mention the Kent game, in which play was severely hampered over the first two days. Fast forward to the year 2000, in the first year of two-division cricket, when Lancashire finished second, 20 points behind Surrey. LANCASHIRE'S TITLE WINS 1934 2011 Against Derbyshire, no play was possible on the last two days, by contrast with Surrey, who played to a finish and beat Hampshire. Even in that year's Championship decider against Surrey, the entire third day was lost to rain, whereas in Lancashire's annual trip to Aigburth, Lancashire beat Hampshire by an innings inside three days. It was the same story in 2003, when Lancashire finished second behind Sussex, with eight draws to the champions' two.

And, in 2006, when Lancashire again finished second to Sussex, coached ironically by Moores, with nine draws to the Hove club's five, the weather played havoc with the last four games, three of them on home soil, which left chairman Jack Simmons joking about re-locating to the south coast. In reality, the answer is a lot simpler. Lancashire does have a coast of its own. So leave Old Trafford for Twenty20, Test matches and pop concerts. And move the stuff that really matters to Merseyside! Share this page LCCC 2011 Champions | Lancashire County Cricket Club Lancashire County Cricket Club Champions at Last Champions at Last (2009-2011) Lancashire’s recent history has been littered with near misses in all forms of the game, but that was soon to change in dramatic circumstances in the glorious summer of 2011. Without an outright LV= County Championship title win since 1934, a gap of 77 years, and without a major trophy of any sort since 1999, this wasn’t supposed to be the year the Red Rose county broke their duck.

With a squad brimming with youngsters and without the financial clout to re-sign the likes of VVS Laxman, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ashwell Prince or Muttiah Muralitharan as overseas players, they were tipped to struggle. It has become a well known fact that Yorkshire captain Andrew Gale tipped his county’s great rivals for relegation in the four-day Championship, in which all eight of their home matches would be played away from Old Trafford as part of the ongoing ground redevelopment. It was pretty clear from an early stage that things were heading in the right direction under the new management team thanks to a comprehensive eight-wicket thumping of Sussex in the season opener at Hove, James Anderson taking eleven wickets in the match and Ashwell Prince scoring a pair of half-centuries. But, even though captain fantastic Glen Chapple admitted that he could understand the rationale behind such tips, there was an unwavering belief within the dressing room that they could surprise a few people. And so it proved as Lancashire, who also went close to Twenty20 glory, pipped Warwickshire to the post with ten four-day wins, of which the majority were absolute thrillers.

While Lancashire have had the foundations for success in place for decades, the catalyst for their title triumph arrived in January of 2009 when former Sussex and England coach Peter Moores agreed to become the club’s new head coach. Cricket manager Mike Watkinson had suggested a new structure at the end of the previous season which would see him take up a new role as Cricket Director, involving duties beyond looking after solely the first team. And many-a-famous name in the game had applied for the new coach’s role, with applications coming from far and wide. But when Moores, a born and bred Lancashire fan from Macclesfield, was sacked by England, Watkinson and company were quick to pounce. The Red Rose would also have a new captain in situ after Glen Chapple had replaced Australian batsman Stuart Law. It was pretty clear from an early stage that things were heading in the right direction under the new management team thanks to a comprehensive eight-wicket thumping of Sussex in the season opener at Hove, James Anderson taking eleven wickets in the match and Ashwell Prince scoring a pair of half-centuries.

Flintoff battled against a persistent knee injury that forced him to retire from the international game immediately after the series, and injury also wrecked his aim of returning for Lancashire the following year. It was a sad way for such a popular cricketer to end his career (or so we thought then), but his contribution to cricket had been immense. Although Lancashire flirted with relegation, they eventually finished fourth in the Championship with 175 points, having won four matches which matched the previous season’s table position. There were positive performances with the bat from Mal Loye and Mark Chilton in particular – Loye was leading run-score with 983 and Chilton finished as the player of the year two years after resigning as skipper – while Gary Keedy finished as the leading wicket-taker. It was in one-day cricket where signs of progression were most evident, however. Lancashire reached the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup – they were beaten in a surreal bowl-out by Somerset in the Old Trafford indoor school – and the semi-finals of the Friends Provident 50-over competition by Hampshire after finishing top of Group D with six wins out of eight matches.

Their form in the group stage of the 20-over competition was nothing short of stunning, with Lancashire topping the North Division table with eight wins from ten matches. However, things didn’t go quite as well in the 40-over format as the side were relegated from the top tier. Joining Loye, who returned to home club Northamptonshire at the end of the season, in leaving Old Trafford were Indian legend VVS Laxman, having topped 850 runs in eleven Championship matches, Steven Mullaney and South African Francois du Plessis, the all-rounder who lost his status as a ‘Kolpak’ player. Away from Lancashire matters, England won an Ashes series on home soil for the second time in five summers thanks to a 2-1 score-line and starring roles for Red Rose duo Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson. Flintoff battled against a persistent knee injury that forced him to retire from the international game immediately after the series, and injury also wrecked his aim of returning for Lancashire the following year. It was a sad way for such a popular cricketer to end his career (or so we thought then), but his contribution to cricket had been immense.

2010 started in the same way 2009 had, with a comprehensive opening week Championship win. This time it was Warwickshire who were sent packing as a new star - Simon Kerrigan – was unveiled. Kerrigan, an up and coming left-arm spinner from Preston, was given his chance after Gary Keedy broke his collarbone in a pre-season fielding accident – and he had an immediate impact. He took seven wickets in the match, including the wicket of England man Ian Bell as his maiden victim, and his second innings figures of 5-43 were the best figures by a Lancashire player on debut since Australian Mick Malone took 7-88 against Nottinghamshire at Blackpool in 1979. Lancashire briefly flirted with relegation as they finished fourth for the third year running. And, in keeping with trend, they bettered their points haul of the previous season thanks to five wins contributing to a tally of 182. Nine wickets in the match for James Anderson and a century from Paul Horton helped Lancashire to a second win on the spin against Essex at Chelmsford in the following round of fixtures.

West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul replaced South African Ashwell Prince midway through the season, with the left-hander amassing 698 runs from eight four-day matches, including two centuries and five fifties. Glen Chapple led the way with 52 wickets, while Keedy returned from injury in stunning form. He later admitted that he had rarely enjoyed a better period in his career than 31 wickets in seven matches. Kerrigan finished with an encouraging 30 from 13 matches in his breakthrough campaign. Again, Lancashire briefly flirted with relegation as they finished fourth for the third year running. And, in keeping with trend, they bettered their points haul of the previous season thanks to five wins contributing to a tally of 182. In one-day cricket, Lancashire fell at the quarter-finals stage of the Twenty20 Cup for the third year running as Essex claimed a floodlit thriller at Chelmsford. Added to this, new opening batsman Stephen Moore, a close season capture from Worcestershire, badly dislocated his shoulder to prematurely end his summer.

The Lightning won six of their 12 Clydesdale Bank 40-over matches in 2010, finishing fourth in a seven-team Group A. This competition did provide an opportunity for batsman Horton to try out captaincy for size as Chapple sat out the majority of the games. It didn’t prevent Chapple from claiming the club’s player of the year gong at the end of the season. Leaving Old Trafford at the end of the campaign were Chanderpaul and wicketkeeper Luke Sutton, a model professional during his five seasons wearing the Red Rose. ‘A year to remember’ may sound like a very clichéd way to describe 2011, but it is the perfect description for such an eventful 12 months on and off the field for this great county. Not only did Lancashire CCC settle for an historic LV= County Championship title triumph, they also saw off the dangerous threat posed to their Old Trafford redevelopment plans by rival developer Derwent Holdings and secured the return of Ashes cricket to Old Trafford for the 2013 summer.

The legal battle with Derwent nearly sapped the life out of the club, so much so that the club later admitted there were a couple of times they were not far away from running out of funds. There was certainly no money for any domestic signings, while overseas duo Farveez Maharoof and Junaid Khan could only arrive on “extremely modest terms” according to Mike Watkinson. But, as mentioned earlier, there was a strong belief from within the squad that a few surprises could be sprung as the likes of Karl Brown, Simon Kerrigan, Gareth Cross and Kyle Hogg tried to prove themselves. And prove themselves they did. Wins over Sussex, Somerset and Warwickshire made it three wins out of their first four matches before Yorkshire arrived at Liverpool’s Aigburth ground, which was the county’s home for six out of the eight home matches. Southport and Blackpool hosted the other two. Lancashire held the whip-hand for the first three days, although were held up by some impressive Yorkshire resistance and a brief spell of rain. It all added up to the hosts requiring 121 off the final 15 overs of the match, which they dramatically achieved with just four balls to spare when Maharoof hit the winning runs.

It was a truly epic Roses contest. When the pair squared up again at Headingley later in the season, they had a lot to live up to after their Merseyside classic. But they didn’t disappoint, with Lancashire again having the better of things. However, a magnificent hundred from White Rose all-rounder Rich Pyrah gave his side hope of recovering from a first innings score of 45-8 to win the match. They were set a target of 283, which they fell 23 runs short of during another tension filled fourth day. Twin defeats against Durham prior to the Headingley win hampered Lancashire’s chances, as did defeats against Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire, inside five sessions, later in the campaign. But, with Warwickshire now the team to beat at the top, Lancashire still had enough in the tank to famously see off Hampshire at Liverpool and Somerset at Taunton in the final two weeks of the season. Again, both matches were classics.

It took a majestic haul of 9-51 from Simon Kerrigan during the final two sessions of the match to down Hampshire – the final wicket was taken with just four minutes of play left – before the epitome of a team effort did for Somerset as Warwickshire stumbled against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl. Celebrations lasted not hours or days, but months, with the Lancashire squad heading down to Buckingham Palace in mid-October to meet the Duke of Edinburgh to receive their medals. In one-day cricket, the county performed superbly towards the back end of the 40-over campaign, while it took English cricket’s first ever Super Over Eliminator to dump them out of the Friends Life t20, with Leicestershire the victors. Steven Croft stood in excellently as skipper for Chapple, who missed the majority of matches due to injury or the need to rest. Still, Lancashire would have settled for the outcome of their glorious summer had you offered it them at the start of April. It really was the perfect ending to what was an eventful few seasons in the life of Lancashire County Cricket Club.

Question: In which year did Lancashire last win the Cricket County Championship outright?
Answer: 1934